Monday, February 4, 2013

All Roads Lead to Manila – The TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Small Forwards Outside of the Philippines

In the first
two posts in this series, we looked at the TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Centers and Power
Forwards. These are the big men who are expected to man the paint of their
respective teams, grab a lion’s share of the rebounds, and serve as the last
lines of defense against cutters and slashers.

In this
post, we will look at perhaps the most crowded position in FIBA Asia, at least
in terms of sheer talent. This was, quite honestly, one of the toughest
positions about which to write, since, again, there are so many big names and
great players who play small forward. This is mainly because, prototypically, a
small forward is one of the heavy-hitters or scorers of a basketball team. Some
of the most decorated players in basketball lore played the 3 position, like
Scottie Pippen, Larry Bird, and, in the more contemporary context, LeBron James
and Carmelo Anthony. The reason for
this, I surmise, is that SFs, or swingmen as they are wont to be labeled,
usually have a good combination of size, quickness, and shooting – all of which
are extremely important in basketball.

In Part 3 of
our series, we will look at the TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Small Forwards.

Fadi El-Khatib and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami are sure
to renew their rivalry in the 2013 FIBA Asia tourney.
(image from FIBAAsia.net)

Now, there
are several awesome talents I deliberately chose to leave out of this list for
a slew of reasons. These players are:

Zaid
Abbas (Jordan) – He expressed his retirement from international basketball
because his club team (Guangdong) and the Jordan Basketball Association just couldn’t
agree on terms that would allow him to play again for the Jordan NT.

Tanguy
Ngombo (Qatar) – Ngombo is certainly an intriguing FIBA Asia talent, but
his eligibility issues cast doubt on whether he’ll even play in August. Take
note that he was already deemed ineligible in Wuhan two years ago, and he
didn’t even play for Qatar in last year’s FIBA Asia Cup. I’m not counting on
him showing up in Manila.

Yaseen
Musa (Qatar) – Musa is really a stretch forward (combo SF & PF), and
he’s surely one of the best the region has ever seen, but he’s getting really
old really fast. I believe the Qataris will probably choose to focus on younger
talent when the Manila tourney commences.

Okay, now
that those disclaimers have been expressed, here are my TOP FIVE FIBA Asia
Small Forwards:

These are the best small forwards you'll find outside of the Philippines.(composite image by Enzo Flojo/Hoop Nut)

Samad Nikkhah Bahrami – Iran, 30 years old,
6’7”

Current
club & stats: Mahram (IBL); 19.8ppg, 4.0rpg, 2.0apg

2012 FIBA
Asia Cup stats: 17.1ppg, 5.6rpg, 2.3apg, 1.4spg,

Strengths:
Bahrami came into prominence in the 2007 FIBA Asia Championships in Tokushima,
Japan, and he hasn’t stopped captivating Asian hoop nuts ever since leading the
Iranians to the title in that tournament. He is known as one of the most
versatile forwards in Asia – having enough size to play the 4, but also having
the skills to be a dominant wing player (he was named MVP of the 2012 FIBA Asia
Cup). He’s the other half of Iran’s one-two offensive punch – the other one
being Hamed Haddadi. Bahrami’s main strengths are his athleticism, slashing and
transition play. He’s truly a gifted scorer who may be just barely behind the
next guy on this list.

Weaknesses:
Offensively, Bahrami is one of the most well-balanced players in Asia, though
if there’s one chink in his armor, it’s his inconsistent three-point shooting.
In the 2011 FIBA Asia tourney, he shot just 32% from beyond the arc. In the
2012 FIBA Asia Cup, he connected on just 3 of his 23 attempts. In the current
Iranian Super League, he’s hitting just 25% of his treys. He’s bound to make
some three-bombs, of course, but it’s little better to have him chuck it than
drive it.

Strengths:
Fadi is timeless. He’s a living legend in Lebanon – think what Robert Jaowrski
was to the Pinoy hoops scene in the 80s and 90s. Of course, the Big J never
really averaged more than 25 points in the pros, and he sure as hell didn’t
pour in a nearly 30-10 stat-line in any FIBA Asia event. And, get this, Fadi is
thiry-friggin’-four years old!!! Two years ago, he contemplated retiring from
international ball, but Lebanese hoop nuts begged for him to return after the
Cedars’ debacle in Wuhan. Why is he so good? Because, as you can see, he does
pretty much everything for Lebanon. EVERYTHING.

Weaknesses:
Perhaps there are really only two gripes about Fadi’s game – his inconsistent
three-point shot and his propensity to turn the ball over. For Champville in
the current FLB, Fadi makes a little more than 36% of his threes. That’s
definitely not bad, but, just like Samad, that’s something opponents can settle
for. Taking care of the rock has not been Fadi’s best suit, too. He norms about
three TOs per game in FLB, and he coughed it up about 4.5 times per game in the
2012 FIBA Asia Cup.

Sun Yue – China, 28 years old, 6’9”

Current
club & stats: Beijing Aoshen Olympians; no stats available (at least
none in English)

Strengths:
Had Sun played for a Chinese team devoid of other superstars like Yao Ming,
Wang Zhizhi, and Yi Jianlian, perhaps he would register numbers similar to
Samad’s and Fadi’s, but, alas, Sun has never really been able to blossom into
that superbly dominant figure for Team Big Red. Nevertheless, Sun is an
impressive player who can pretty much do anything a coach wants him to. His
size, quickness, and soft touch make him such a continental match-up nightmare
at the 3 spot, where most Asians are about 6’4-6’6. He can spot up, run the
floor, and jump pretty high – just a complete package.

Weaknesses:
Sun’s biggest weakness has always been just finding his role in the Chinese NT.
Again, because of so many other stars on the team, it seems Sun is content to
simply recede into the background. Now that the team no longer enjoys the
services of guys like Yao, Wang, and Liu Wei, though, Sun has the perfect
chance to step up. He has never really reached his potential (read: Japeth
Aguilar), but, who knows, perhaps he just might explode in Manila come August?

Strengths:
Kawamura is the big time scorer of Japan. He played that role to the hilt in
Wuhan two years ago, and he should resume that role once again for Japan in
August. As his stats suggest, he’s a purely offensive machine. He was born to
break down defenses with his penetration and shooting, and, on occasion, dump
the drop pass to his waiting bigs. Much of Japan’s success in Manila will
depend on how well Kawamura can adjust to the defenses being thrown at him.

Weaknesses:
Despite what his steals average might suggest, Kawamura isn’t exactly the best
perimeter defender. He’s pretty good in picking the passing lanes, but he
chooses to conserve his energy for offense by sacrificing on-ball D. As is
expected of guys who dominate possessions, Kawamura is also quite prone to
turnovers – he currently norms nearly 3 TOs per game in the JBL.

Takuya Kawamura looks to be an important piece of the
puzzle for a resurgent Japanese five.
(image from Sports163.com)

Jet Chang (aka Chang Tsung-Hsien) – Taiwan,
26 years old, 6’4”

2012 FIBA
Asia Cup stats: 13.0ppg, 4.6rpg

FIBA 2011
Championship stats: 11.6ppg, 2.1rpg, 1.6spg

Strengths:
Jet Chang is an alumnus of Brigham Young University-Hawaii, and is one of the
young guns in Taiwan’s SBL. He’s a natural scorer who seems to have inherited
the mantle of “Taiwan’s Top Gun” from the aging Chen Hsin-An. Chang’s
three-point shooting percentage isn’t anything to write home about (36% in the
2011 FIBA Asia tourney), but he’s extremely streaky, so once he gets going,
watch out. He’s also an exceptional slasher, mainly because he has great
handles, and he can break down his man with relative ease. For someone who has
the ball often, he also doesn’t turn it over a lot (just over 1 turnover per
game in the 2011 FIBA Asia and 2012 Jones Cup).

Weaknesses:
He’s a little predictable, though, since he rarely looks to make plays for his
teammates. Once he gets in transition or slashes through the lane, he’ll take
it all the way perhaps 90% of the time (less than one assist per game in the
2011 FIBA Asia and the 2012 Jones Cup). This is the main thing that prevents
him from being in the same tier as the other names on this list – that, and the
fact that he shoots at just about 60% from the line.

Unsolicited Recommendation:

The SF spot
has always been a bit of a headache for Pinoys, simply because guys who are
6’6”-6’8” aren’t supposed to move and handle the ball as well as the ones on
this list. Guys that big are supposed to man the low post with their backs to
the basket and have no business slashing the lane or shooting from outside.

This is also
why it’ll be a little tough to find a good combination of size, speed, handles,
and shooting from among the 6’4” and above players in the PBA, but, hey, I
managed to think of a few notable suggestions.

The five
guys whom I think can best serve as Gilas Pilipinas’s small forwards are
(arranged from highest-priority to lowest-priority):

Arwind Santos (he plays the 4 spot for
Petron, but, given his size and skill set, I think he would be better suited as
a 3 in the FIBA Asia game)

Gabe Norwood (he is the epitome of
versatility, but he needs more consistency with his long range shooting)

Jared Dillinger (possesses the perfect
skill set and size for the international game, but his decision-making and
three-point shooting can be suspect)

Niño Cañaleta (he’s as streaky as they
come, which is both good and bad, but at least he’s earned some experience in
Dubai and Hong Kong)

Matt Ganuelas Rosser (he’s a
mini-Norwood; more upper body strength and experience will serve him well)

In PART FOUR,
we shall take a look at the TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Shooting Guards.

Why not look outside the PBA, Bobby Ray Parks Jr. should be consider as one of the top SF in the country, maybe he should be invited to join Gilas Pilipinas Pool. He has the height, quickness, athleticism, prolific scorer and an underrated defender. Quite an all-around guy. I think he is even better than Chang of CT(selfish, just an offensive guy) and Kawamura of Japan(pretty soft and back down from physicality), its just that they have the experience playing in FIBA Asia.

Hi enzo! Im the first guy to comment about gabe, well i see gabe all around game and passive instincts makes him not being recognized in the court, but the intangibles he brings is really underrated, the length and athleticism he brings on the defensive end is helpful to the team.